By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT PhilBoxing.com Fri, 29 Nov 2019
November 28, 2019, New Orleans, Louisiana --
Happy Thanksgiving!
The picture above sums up what (undisputed) friendship is all about.
From left to right are Robert Lyons, Helena Buscema, Carl Roberts and yours truly taken on the eve of Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman World Welterweight Championship, July 20, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I offer this note of thanks for friends (like them) my family has met along the way in Life as Mark Twain finds it.
Saying thanks comes easy for many.
For a few others, it’s the kind gesture that matters.
For many, nowadays, the words flow through text, emails, emojis and candid conversations.
I try to convey my appreciation for friends and family through PhilBoxing.com.
I thank ed-in-chief Mr. Dong Secuya for the opportunity.
My father, the late Hermie Rivera once said,” Gratitude is the holiest of virtues. It is what goes on your record as The Saints Go Marching In.”
My mother, the late Cristina Pasaoa Rivera agreed, “Giving thanks uplifts the soul.”
These are the simple lessons that keeps my brothers and sisters---Tony, Charina, Christine, Jay and Andy---close.
The song “When The Saints Go Marching In”, made popular by Louis Armstrong and the All-Stars with Filipino-American drummer Danny Barcelona, is a spiritual hymn with a jazzy tune that encourages us to make most of what we have before we leave this world.
Below is a recording from my time in The Big Easy.
I’ve attached the lyrics if you want to sing along.
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“When The Saints Go Marching In”
We are trav'ling in the footsteps
Of those who've gone before
But we'll all be reunited (but if we stand reunited)
On a new and sunlit shore (then a new world is in store)
O when the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching in
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
And when the sun refuse (begins) to shine
And when the sun refuse (begins) to shine
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
When the moon turns red with blood
When the moon turns red with blood
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
On that hallelujah day
On that hallelujah day
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
O when the trumpet sounds the call
O when the trumpet sounds the call
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
Some say this world of trouble
Is the only one we need
But I'm waiting for that morning
When the new world is revealed
When the revelation (revolution) comes
When the revelation (revolution) comes
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
When the rich go out and work
When the rich go out and work
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
When the air is pure and clean
When the air is pure and clean
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
When we all have food to eat
When we all have food to eat
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
When our leaders learn to cry
When our leaders learn to cry
O Lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
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There are approximately 6,909 distinct languages as of 2009, according to Ethnologue (published by Summer Institute of Linguistics International).
Said Stephen R. Anderson for LinguisticSociety.org, ”Whatever the world’s linguistic diversity at the present, it is steadily declining, as local forms of speech increasingly become moribund before the advance of the major languages of world civilization. When a language ceases to be learned by young children, its days are clearly numbered, and we can predict with near certainty that it will not survive the death of the current native speakers.”
It is my belief that the phrase “Thank You” has a commensurate meaning in each and every language---be it in spoken or non-verbal form.
Allow me to list a few dialects/languages below…my share to keep “Thank You” from getting lost in translation.
1. Mandarin… xièxie (China, Taiwan, Singapore)
2. Spanish…gracias (Mexico, Central and South America, Spain, United States)
3. English…Thank you (United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom)
4. Hindi…dhanyavaad (India, Fiji, Nepal)
5. Arabic…šukran (North Africa, Western Asia, Middle East, East Africa)
6. Portuguese…obrigada (Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste)
7. Bengali…dhanyabaad (Bangladesh, West Bengal-India, Tripura-India, Assam-India)
8. Russian…spasibo (Russia, former Republics of the Soviet Union, Mongolia)
9. Japanese…arigato (Japan)
10. Punjabi…meharbani (Punjab region---India, Pakistan)
11. German…danke (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland)
12. Javanese…matur nuwun (Java,Indonesia)
13. Wu (Shanghainese)…xia xia nòng (Zhejiang, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu--eastern China)
14. Malay (Indonesian)…terima kasih (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore)
15. Korean…gamsahamnida (North Korea, South Korea)
16. Telegu…dhanyavadalu (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry ---India)
17. Vietnamese…c?m on (Vietnam)
18. French…merci (France, Canada---Quebec, New Brunswick and Eastern parts of Ontario, Switzerland, Francophone Africa, French Caribbean, French Polynesia, various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans)
19. Marathi d…hanyawad (Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat---India)
20. Tamil…nandri (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka---India), Puducherry---India), Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius)
21. Urdu…shukriya (India, Pakistan)
22. Persian (Farsi)… merci (Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan)
23. Turkish…tesekkürler (Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria)
24. Cantonese…dòje (Guangdong--Canton), southern Guangxi---southern China, Hong Kong, Macau
25. Italian… grazie (Italy, Switzerland, San Marino)
26. Thai… khàawp-khun (Thailand)
27. Gujarati… abhara (India, Bangladesh, Fiji)
28. Basque…eskerrik asko (Northern Spain)
29. Fujian…Minnan kám-si (eastern part of Guandong --southeastern China), Hainan--southern China, Taiwan, Malaysia)
30. Polish…dziekuje (Poland, Germany, United Kingdom, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Czechia)
31. Pashto…manana (Afghanistan, Pakistan)
32. Kannada…dhanyavada (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra---India)
33. Malayalam…nandi (Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mahé---India)
34. Sundanese…hatur nuhun (Java, Indonesia)
35. Chamorro…si yu’us ma’åse’ (Austronesian language spoken mainly on the island of Guam, and also in the Mariana Islands)
36. Hausa… na gode (Nigeria)
37. Burmese…cè-zù tin-ba-deh (Myanmar)
38. Oriya… dhanyabaad (Odisha ---India)
39. Armenian…shnorhakalut’yun (Armenia, Georgia, and Russia)
40. Ukranian…diakuju (Ukraine)
41. Bhojpuri…dhanvaad (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh---India), Bara, Parsa---Nepal)
42. Tagalog…Salamat (Manila and Northern Philippines)
43. Yoruba…e se…for an older person)/o se …for same age or younger (Nigeria, Benin and Togo)
44. Maithili…dhanyabad (Bihar, Jharkhand---India), eastern---Tarai Nepal)
45. Sindhi… merharbani (Sindh, Pakistan and neighboring areas in India)
46. Swahili…asante (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda)
47. Uzbek… rahmat (Uzbekistan)
48. Amharic…amesegnalaw (Ethiopia)
49. Fula…jaaraama (West and Central Africa, from Senegal to Sudan)
50. Igbo…daal? (Nigeria)
51. Oromo…galatoomi (Ethiopia and Kenya)
52. Romanian…multumesc (Romania, Moldova)
53. Azerbaijani…çox sag olun (Azerbaijan and Northern Iran)
54. Manipuri/Meitei…thaagatchari (North East India, Bangladesh, Myanmar)
55. Cebuano…Salamat (Central and Southern Philippines)
56. Dutch… bedankt (Belgium---Flanders, Brussels, Netherlands and Surinam)
57. Kurdish…sipas dikim (“Kurdistan”, northern Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria)
58. Serbo-Croatian…hvala (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro)
59. Malagasy…misaotra (Madagascar)
60. Nepali…dhanyabad (Nepal and neighboring areas, Sikkim --- India)
61. Saraiki…shukriya (Sindh, Pakistan)
62. Santali…adi johar (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan)
63. Khmer…arkun (Cambodia)
64. Sinhalese…stutiyi (Sri Lanka)
65. Bambara…a ni kié (Mali Mande language with about 3 million speakers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ghan
66. Assamese…dhanyabad (Assam---India)
67. Madurese…matur nuwun (Madura and Java, Indonesia)
68. Somali…mahadsanid (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Yemen)
69. Magahi…dhanyavaad (Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal---India)
70. Dogri… dhanwaad (Jammu and Kashmir---India)
71. Marwari…dhanyawadh (Rajasthan---India and Gujarat/Haryana---Pakistan)
72. Hungarian…köszönöm (Hungary and areas in neighboring countries)
73. Chewa…zikomo (Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe)
74. Greek… efcharistó (Greece, Cyprus, Albania)
75. Akan/Twi…meda wo ase (Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire)
76. Khasi…khublei (Meghalaya and Assam states in India, Northeast Bangladesh by the Khasi people)
77. Kazakh…rahmet (Kazakhstan)
78. Tswana…ke a leboga (Botswana and Zimbabwe)
79. Hebrew…toda (Israel)
80. Zulu…ngiyabonga (South Africa, Lesotho)
81. Czech…dekuju (Czech Republic)
82. Kinyarwanda…murakoze (Rwanda)
83. Konkani deu… borem korum (Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra (India)
84. Sylheti…dhonobad (Northern Bangladesh and neighboring parts of India)
85. Haitian Creole… mèsi (Haiti)
86. Afrikaans…dankie (South Africa, Namibia)
87. Min Dong…kan sia (Fujian---Southeastern China)
88. Ilokano…agyamannak (Northern Luzon in the Philippines)
89. Quechua…sulpayki (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Argentina)
90. Kirundi…urakoze (Burundi and Uganda)
91. Swedish…tack (Sweden and Finland)
92. Hmong…ua tsaug (Laos and neighboring areas)
93. Shona… waita (Zimbabwe)
94. Hiligaynon…Salamat (Western Visayas in the Philippines)
95. Uyghur…rahmat (Xinjiang ---Western China)
96. Balochi…minnat vaaran’ (Balochistan Region including Pakistan (Balochistan), Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan), and southern Afghanistan (Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar)
97. Belarusian…dziakuj (Belarus)
98. Mossi… y barka (Burkina Faso)
99. Xhosa… enkosi (South Africa, Zimbabwe)
100. Bulgarian…blagodaria (Bulgaria, Ukraine, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Greece, and Romania)
Top Photo (L-R): Robert Lyons, Helena Buscema, Carl Roberts and Emmanuel Rivera on the eve of Manny Pacquiao-Keith Thurman Welterweight Championship Fight, July 20, 2019, Saturday, Las Vegas, Nevada)
